More Google alternatives

According to the stats, by far the most popular post on this site is My Favorite Google Alternatives. It seems that we love Google, but we’re still looking for a better search engine. While it’s size and broad scope make Google great, there are times when we need something smaller and focused. In light of this, here are a few more of my favorite Google alternatives:

Internet Archive: Wayback Machine – Basically a database of different versions of websites over time, the Wayback Machine is a great way to check out the past as well as the present when investigating companies and executives. The only drawback is that you need an exact URL to search, but rumor has it that’s about to change.

Million Short: This search engine filters out the top 100, 1,000, or even million sites from your results. You’re left with some obscure, long-tail type of info, which, for certain projects or cases, is just what you’re looking for. Still in beta and a little rough around the edges, Million Short is worth a try.

Carrot2 – When I’m searching a topic that’s new to me (such as my Silicon Photonics market intelligence project), I turn to Carrot2. They organize results into clusters, or topic folders, which provide a nice overview of the subject and leads for sources. If you’re more visual, try the Circles or FoamTree results displays.

I’d love to hear about your favorite Google alternatives and how you use them!